Poll: Moving to BC

According the BC Liberals, B.C. finished 2003 with a net inflow of nearly 2,100 people from other provinces, the first time in six years that more people are moving to B.C. from other provinces than are leaving.

The Liberals attribute the increase to "tax cuts and reforms we've made to revitalize our economy and get our financial house in order - and we're all starting to see the benefits of those changes."

The last time B.C. recorded more people moving in from other provinces was
in 1997. The new positive numbers for 2003 bring to an end to the most prolonged period of outward migration to other provinces since 1961, when B.C. first began recording annual migration numbers. Prior to this five-year period, there were only four years in total when B.C. lost more people to other provinces than it gained: 1975, 1976, 1982 and 1985.

Net Interprovincial Migration for B.C.:
1996: 17,798
1997: 1,980
1998: -17,521
1999: -12,413
2000: -14,783
2001: -7,278
2002: -7,117
2003: 2,094